Disaster
by Spottedpool
Summary: Since the Final Battle, Harry's life has been calm and simple. But what happens when disaster strikes? Can his friends pull him out of his depression before it's too late? Harry/Padma Patil pairing.
1. Chapter 1

**This is based off a challenge from AuroraCloud. Check out her stories! :) **

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Fourteen years. Fourteen years of peace, and prosperity. The Ministry had managed to rebuild itself, Hogwarts was up and running once again, and Voldemort was gone. And for Harry, the best thing was Padma. He'd started dating her after the Battle of Hogwarts, and he had eventually proposed. They had been married five years, Padma had been pregnant for four months, and he'd been Head Auror for two weeks when it all ended.

It all started with a simple call. Someone sent word that is was a hostage situation. Not totally uncommon, seeing as nearly half of the old Death Eaters were still roaming around, like cobras, waiting to strike. So Harry and a handful of other Aurors went to check it out. Harry let Dean Thomas, a lower ranked Auror, send a spell in, so they could find out who was inside.

Harry only began to worry when he saw Dean's face pale drastically.

"Dean? What's wrong?" Harry demanded.

"It's… It's…" The man stuttered, almost unable to speak.

"Spit it out!" Harry snapped, anxiety gnawing at him.

"They've got a woman. I think it is Padma." Dean whispered hoarsely. Harry felt as if a boulder had landed on him, but that wasn't the worst part. "And Draco Malfoy is the one holding her hostage."

. . .

The next two hours were a blur for Harry. All he really remembered was yelling orders, wracking his brain for ways to save his wife, and his unborn child. And the explosion. Oh Merlin knew he'd never forget that.

Just as they were about to move, about to save his wife, the front of the building explode, throwing them all back nearly ten feet. Harry was the first one up, racing forward through the smoke, desperate to find the girl he loved. But when he found her he wished he hadn't.

Her fiery red hair was sprawled out around her, and her hand rested on her belly. Her eyes were closed, and her body was covered in burns. "PADMA!" He screamed, racing to her side. He grabbed her wrist, desperate to find a pulse, even the slightest pulse. But it was gone.

"NO! PADMA, DON'T LEAVE ME!" He begged, but he knew it was too late. She was gone. In hopeless despair, he cradled her body, holding her until all traces of heat were gone. Until Dean and a raven-haired man dragged him away from her.

"Padma!" He sobbed, trying to even understand how something like this could happen to his wife. She was a good person. How could something like this happen to her? How? Why? And he asked the raven-haired man.

"I don't know, Harry." The man replied softly. "I don't know."

. . .

When Harry woke up, the ebony-haired man was sitting in a familiar chair, and Harry was sideways. It took him a moment to get his bearings and realize that he wasn't sideways, and that he was on the couch in the home he'd bought years ago. The home he'd shared with Padma.

"I'm sorry, Harry." Neville said softly.

Harry closed his eyes and turned away from the other man, but whispered, "It's not your fault."

"It doesn't make me any less sorry." He stated simply.

Harry grimaced at the pain in his friend's voice.

"Why are you here?" He asked. "If it hurts you so much, then why don't you just go?"

Neville stared defiantly at him. "Because I care too much about you to go, Harry. You're my friend."

Harry closed his eyes, his mind drifting back. Back to Padma Patil.

_They'd been secretly dating since fifth year. After Ron had completely ignored her, (and to be honest he'd done the same to Parvati …) they'd started talking. And she was nothing like her sister. (Which explained why they were in separate houses) _

_She was smart, intelligent, and she didn't believe any of the garbage Trelawney told them. _

_She had suggested they keep their relationship a secret because he didn't want anyone to hurt her. And then Ginny found out. _

_Harry knew that the younger girl had had a crush on him for a while, and he decided to finally tell her he didn't feel the same way. After much arguing, angry words, and a few tears, Ginny knew that Parvati and Harry were dating. And she agreed to help them. _

_So Harry and Ginny pretended to date in public, while Harry and Parvati dated secretly. And it worked. Ginny and Harry 'broke up' after Dumbledore's funeral, and Parvati and Harry publicly dated after Voldemort was gone. All was well. _

_Until now. _Harry thought miserably.

"Are you ok?" Neville asked, seeing the faraway look that was filling Harry's emerald eyes.

"Fine…" He mumbled in response. "I'm going to bed. You can let yourself out." Harry told the other man, and without waiting for a response he stood up and went upstairs, and into his bedroom, locking the door behind him. He stood stone still for a moment, taking it all in. His stuff, her stuff. It became a blur. All he knew was that everything reminded him of her, and every fiber in his body was crying out in pain. It was like someone had cast the Cruciatus curse on him and wouldn't let him free.

He collapsed onto the bed and let silent tears of pain fall down his face. All he wanted to do was sleep, sleep and never wake up….

. . .

Sadly, Harry did wake, about ten hours later. At first, he wondered what had woken him. Then he realized it was the _tap tap tap _coming from the window. He stood up, rubbing his eyes as they adjusted to the light, and opened the window. A large barn owl flew in and dropped a letter, then ruffled its feathers, and took off. He watched its brown shape disappear into the horizon, then slowly lifted the letter and unfolded the thick parchment and read.

_Dear Harry,_

_They found where Draco hiding out. You should come. There's a portkey attached to the parchment. The code is 'pineapple'. You need to see this. _

_Neville_

Harry sighed, but pulled out the portkey. If this had something to do with his wife's killer, then he'd be happy to see it.

After straightening his robes, he pulled out the portkey. "Pineapple." He muttered, rolling his eyes at the strange password.

Harry felt the familiar feeling of being reeled in by a hook, and a moment later he was standing in front of Neville Longbottom on a sandy beach. He could hear the waves ramming against the shore.

"Hello Harry. Glad you came." He said softly, his eyes clouded with grief.

Harry merely nodded in acknowledgement. "What did they find?" He asked gruffly.

Neville took a deep breath. "Harry, it's a little scary. I just want you to be ready. He… he wasn't right in the head. He seemed to have gotten the idea that it was somehow your fault that his family was the way it was. I just want you to know it's not."

Harry nodded numbly, liking this less and less with every word the other man spoke.

"Ok." Neville said slowly. "This way." He turned and led Harry towards an ancient shack that was facing away from the ocean.

The door creaked on its hinges when they opened it, and Harry thought for a brief moment that it was going to fall. But somehow it managed to stay up, but Harry kept a wary eye on it for a few minutes until following Neville farther into the gloomy house.

"This is where he stayed." Neville said simply, stopping in the center of the room. Harry looked around the room feeling dazed. Covering every inch of the wall were pictures, newspaper clippings, and even some graffiti. And they were all about _him. _

There were only three pieces of furniture, a bed, a desk, and a chair. The desk was covered in paper and a bottle of ink had been spilt across them.

"The Aurors found this," Neville said, holding up a ratty, leather-bound book, "But they agreed that you should be the first to read it." He held it out, and after a moment of hesitation, Harry took it, and very slowly, he opened it to the last page.

_Journal, _

_Have a plan. Potter will be destroyed. Potter's family will be destroyed. Today I will destroy his wife, and the little Potter. Today. At last._

_I will not be back after this, but it will be well worth it._

_Draco Lucius Malfoy _

Harry stared at the page for a moment, then looked up at Neville, horror filling him.

"He planned it. All of it." He whispered. "Oh Merlin, he planned Padma's murder!" Harry sank to the ground, tears rolling down his cheeks. Neville crouched next to him, and silently put a comforting arm around him. They sat like that for a while, until one of them finally broke the silence.

"I'm sorry, Harry. And…" Neville hesitated, then took a deep breath, as if willing himself to continue. "They found something else that might interest you… It doesn't have anything to do with Padma's murder, but it's… interesting." Harry wiped his face, and stood up, nodding.

"What? I want to know everything about that killer. Everything." Neville nodded, and opened the desk drawer, and pulled out a handful of papers.

"It's… it's about you. And Ginny."

Harry hesitated, then took the paper and began reading.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Yay, chapter two! Thanks to xXJayfeatherXx for reviewing. :) **

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Autumn_ seemed to arrive suddenly that year. The morning of the first of September was crisp as an apple, and as the little family bobbed across the rumbling road toward the great sooty station, the fumes of car exhausts and the breath of pedestrians sparkled like cobwebs in the cold air. Two large cages tattled on top of the laden trolleys the parents were pushing; the owls inside them hooted indignantly, and the redheaded girl trailed fearfully behind here brothers, clutching her father's arm._

_"It won't be long, and you'll be going too," Harry told her._

_"Two years," sniffed Lily. "I want to go now!"_

Lily? Harry thought. But… but Lily was going to be our daughter's name.. 

What was happening? 

_The commuters stared curiously at the owls as the family wove its way toward the barrier between platforms nine and ten, Albus's voice drifted back to Harry over the surrounding clamor; his sons had resumed the argument they had started in the car._

_"I won't! I won't be a Slytherin!"_

_"James, give it a rest!" said Ginny. "I only said he might be," said James, grinning at his younger brother. "There's nothing wrong with that. He might be in Slytherin" _

Underneath, it appeared that Draco had scribbled something. 

'Ginny?' he wrote. 'Potter married Patil. Could he be cheating?' 

Harry felt a growl rising in his throat, but forced himself to keep reading.

_But James caught his mother's eye and fell silent. The five Potters approached the barrier. With a slightly cocky look over his shoulder at his younger brother, James took the trolley from his mother and broke into a run. A moment later, he had vanished._

_"You'll write to me, won't you?" Albus asked his parents immediately, capitalizing on the momentary absence of his brother._

_"Every day, of you want us to," said Ginny._

_"Not every day," said Albus quickly, "James says most people only get letters from home about once a month."_

_"We wrote to James three times a week last year," said Ginny._

_"And you don't want to believe everything he tells you about Hogwarts," Harry put in. "He likes a laugh, your brother."_

'Potter had no sons!'

_Side by side, they pushed the second trolley forward, gathering speed. As they reached the barrier, Albus winced, but no collision came. Instead, the family emerged onto platform nine and three-quarters, which was obscured by thick white steam that was pouring from the scarlet Hogwarts Express. Indistinct figures were swarming through the mist, into which James had already disappeared._

_"Where are they?" asked Albus anxiously, peering at the hazy forms they passed as they made their way down the platform._

_"We'll find them," said Ginny reassuringly. But the vapor was dense, and it was difficult to make out anybody's faces. Detached from their owners, voices sounded unnaturally loud, Harry thought he head Percy discoursing loudly on broomstick regulations, and was quite glad of the excuse not to stop and say hello. . . ._

_"I think that's them, Al," said Ginny suddenly. A group of four people emerged from the mist, standing alongside the very last carriage. Their faces only came into focus when Harry, Ginny, Lily, and Albus had drawn right up to them._

_"Hi," said Albus, sounding immensely relieved. Rose, who was already wearing her brand-new Hogwarts robes, beamed at him._

_"Parked all right, then?" Ron asked Harry. "I did. Hermione didn't believe I could pass a Muggle driving test, did you? She thought I'd have to Confound the examiner."_

_"No, I didn't," said Hermione, "I had complete faith in you."_

_"As a matter of fact, I did Confund him," Ron whispered to Harry, as together they lifted Albus's trunk and owl onto the train. "I only forgot to look in the wing mirror, and let's face it; I can use a Supersensory Charm for that."_

_Back on the platform, they found Lily and Hugo, Rose's younger brother, having an animated discussion about which House they would be sorted into when they finally went to Hogwarts._

_"If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you," said Ron, "but no pressure."_

_"Ron!"_

_Lily and Hugo laughed, but Albus and Rose looked solemn._

'Sounds like Weasel and the Mudblood's brats… Must deal with them next.' 

Harry glared at the untidy handwriting. At least Draco couldn't hurt anyone else. 

_"He doesn't mean it," said Hermione and Ginny, but Ron was no longer paying attention. Catching Harry's eye, he nodded covertly to a point some fifty yards away. The steam had thinned for a moment, and three people stood in sharp relief against the shifting mist._

_"Look who it is."_

_Draco Malfoy was standing there with his wife and son, a dark coat buttoned up to his throat. His hair was receding somewhat, which emphasized the pointed chin. The new boy resembled Draco as much as Albus resembled Harry. Draco caught sight of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny staring at him, nodded curtly, and turned away again._

'I have no son! What is this…'

Harry found himself thinking along the same lines. 

_"So that's little Scorpius," said Ron under his breath. "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."_

_"Ron, for heaven's sake," said Hermione, half stern, half amused. "Don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!"_

_"You're right, sorry," said Ron, but unable to help himself, he added, "Don't get too friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood."_

_"Hey!"_

_James had reappeared; he had divested himself of his trunk, owl, and trolley, and was evidently bursting with news._

_"Teddy's back there," he said breathlessly, pointing back over his shoulder into the billowing clouds of steam. "Just seen him! And guess what he's doing? Snogging Victoire!"_

_He gazed up at the adults, evidently disappointed by the lack of reaction. "Our Teddy! Teddy Lupin! Snogging our Victoire! Our cousin! And I asked Teddy what he was doing -"_

_"You interrupted them?" said Ginny. "You are so like Ron -"_

_"- and he said he'd come to see her off! And then he told me to go away. He's snogging her!" James added as though worried he had not made himself clear._

_"Oh, it would be lovely if they got married!" whispered Lily ecstatically. "Teddy would really be part of the family then!"_

_"He already comes round for dinner about four times a week," said Harry "Why don't we just invite him to live with is and have done with it?"_

_"Yeah!" said James enthusiastically. "I don't mind sharing with Al-Teddy could have my room!"_

_"No," said Harry firmly, "you and Al will share a room only when I want the house demolished." He checked the battered old watch that had once been Fabian Prewett's._

_"It's nearly eleven; you'd better get on board."_

_"Don't forget to give Neville our love!" Ginny told James as she hugged him._

_"Mum! I can't give a professor love!"_

_"But you know Neville-"_

'Longbottom a professor? He hasn't got the brains!' 

Harry glanced at his friend, who was simply watching him. Harry continued reading.

_James rolled his eyes._

_"Outside, yeah, but at school he's Professor Longbottom, isn't he? I can't walk into Herbology and give him love. . . ."_

_Shaking his head at his mother's foolishness, he vented his feelings by aiming a kick at Albus._

_"See you later, Al. Watch out for the thestrals."_

_"I thought they were invisible? You said they were invisible!" but James merely laughed, permitted his mother to kiss him, gave his father a fleeting hug, then leapt onto the rapidly filling train. They saw him wave, then sprint away up the corridor to find his friends._

_"Thestrals are nothing to worry about," Harry told Albus. "They're gentle things, there's nothing scare about them. Anyway, you won't be going up to school in the carriages, you'll be going in the boats."_

_Ginny kissed Albus good-bye._

_"See you at Christmas."_

_"Bye, Al," said Harry as his son hugged him. "Don't forget Hagrid's invited you to tea next Friday. Don't mess with Peeves. Don't duel anyone till you're learned how. _

'Take your own advice, Potter.' 

Harry bit back a smile, remembering his first year and how he'd recklessly let Ron accept the dueling challenge. Never again, he silently vowed, will I listen to Ron's dueling advice.

_And don't let James wind you up."_

_"What if I'm in Slytherin?"_

'Then it would kill Potter!' Draco wrote.

Harry almost protested, then remembered it was only a piece of parchment. Shaking his head, he continued.

_The whisper was for his father alone, and Harry knew that only the moment of departure could have forced Albus to reveal how great and sincere that fear was._

_Harry crouched down so that Albus's face was slightly above his own. Alone of Harry's three children, Albus had inherited Lily's eyes._

_"Albus Severus," Harry said quietly, so that nobody but Ginny could hear, and she was tactful enough to pretend to be waving to Rose, who was now on the train, "you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."_

_"But just say-"_

_"-then Slytherin House will have gained an excellent student, won't it? It doesn't matter to us, Al._

'The day a Potter joins Slytherin is the day I die!' 

Harry wanted nothing more than to ripe the paper to shreds. It was only lies! But it must have been important for Draco to keep it. 

_But if it matter to you, you'll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account." _

_"Really?"_

_"It did for me," said Harry._

'What? Potter can even trick the bloody sorting hat?'

Harry almost smiled.

_He had never told any of his children that before, and he saw the wonder in Albus's face when he said it. But how the doors were slamming all along the scarlet train, and the blurred outlines of parents swarming forward for final kisses, last-minute reminders, Albus jumped into the carriage and Ginny closed the door behind him. Students were hanging from the windows nearest them. A great number of faces, both on the train and off, seemed to be turned toward Harry._

_"Why are they all staring?" demanded Albus as he and rose craned around to look at the other students._

_"Don't let it worry you," said Ron. "It's me, I'm extremely famous."_

'The day a Weasel is famous is the day Malfoy is no longer feared!' 

Harry did smile, remembering the fame Ron had earned as being the Auror who finally brought down the Carrow's after they'd escaped during the Battle.

_Albus, Rose, Hugo, and Lily laughed. The train began to more, and Harry walked alongside it, watching his son's thin face, already ablaze with excitement. Harry kept smiling and waving, even though it was like a little bereavement, watching his son glide away from him. . . ._

_The last trace of steam evaporated in the autumn air. The train rounded a corner. Harry's hand was still raised in farewell._

_"He'll be alright," murmured Ginny._

_As Harry looked at her, he lowered his hand absentmindedly and touched the lightning scar on his forehead._

_"I know he will."_

_The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. All was well._

'Except that he destroyed my family!' 

The writing was barely legible. Draco must have been extremely angry when he was writing

There were several notes scrawled at the bottom of the page. Harry read them all carefully.

'Potter has two futures, and I have none?'

'Potter connected to the female Weasel. How?'

'Killing Weasel hurt Potter?'

After that the only writing was so sloppy that Harry couldn't make it out. Slowly, he looked up at Neville, who had a mournful look on his face.

"What… What is this?" Harry asked. "Where did this come from?"

Neville shook his head. "No one knows. But we do know that whatever Draco was planing to do after he... went after Padma... isn't possible now. They found him. He's dead."

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**I couldn't remember if the Carrow's were ever offically killed, so I decided that since all the Hogwarts students hated them they would be good characters for Ron to capture. :) Review and tell me what I did right, what I did wrong. All that good stuff. :) **


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